In a large study, it was found that men of African American (AA) descent who are candidates for active surveillance are not at an increased risk of being upstaged or upgraded at surgery compared to other men. Initial studies have been concerning, indicating that AA men might not be good AS candidates. However, this study along with some other recent studies have refuted this concern.
This study, which is scheduled to be presented at the upcoming annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) consisted of more than 3,000 men on AS with favorable-risk types of prostate cancer.
Candidates for AS were defined as men with Gleason scores of 3 + 3 and low-volume 3 + 4 prostate cancer who also met other (standard) criteria for active surveillance.
The study found that race did not play a role in the final pathology grade or stage. The study concluded that AA men with favorable risk of prostate cancer are not at a higher risk of having tumor upgrades upon surgical intervention.
http://www.jurology.com/article/S0022-5347(18)41000-2/fulltext
Joel T. Nowak, MA, MSW wrote this Post. Joel is the CEO/Executive Director of Cancer ABCs. He is a Cancer Thriver diagnosed with five primary cancers - Thyroid, Metastatic Prostate, Renal, Melanoma, and the rare cancer Appendiceal cancer.
